2018-06-27 - LOTUS INCEPTION: Niramo Umokeshi
| Title: LOTUS INCEPTION: Niramo Umokeshi | |
|---|---|
| Summary: Ladybug and Chat Noir go looking for the third Miraculous User in her dream and finds her completely different than expected. With coordinated efforts, they make Sourisi realize that she's not how she should be, and she gives herself more than a pinch to wake herself up. | |
| Who: | |
| Where: Niramo's Fantasy World - Yotsuba Clover Town | |
| OOC - IC Date: 6-27-2018 - ??-??-???? | |
<Pose Tracker> Niramo Umokeshi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
The rosy orange of dusk is falling over the Tokyo skyline as another day draws to a close. The trees were in full bloom and the rays of the sun gives off one last tinge of heat to the day before it sets fully, and a gentle breeze is there to to keep the citizens of Tokyo cool. What could be the finale to a beautiful day?
The loud roar of a dying Nebubla as it is purified of its' evil is a good start.
Catching Yamane as she is thrown free of the skeletal cage-like Nebubla as it fades into motes of purified energy, Stardust Champion Sourisi lets out a sigh of contentment at seeing her sister safe from yet another kidnapping attempt. Despite the Void Stars not knowing her secret identity, they have a very bad habit of going after her little sister.
Landing on top of a bakery after the mid-air battle, the bedazzled magical girl carefully helps her sister down and looks her over carefully before breaking into a smile at seeing the green-haired elementry student unharmed. "It was a little rough without Taureai-chan and Tigiri-chan here, but i'm glad to see you okay. You're not drained, are you?"
Giggling and shaking her head so that her school beret was in risk of falling off, Yamane shows she has plenty of energy to spare. "I'm fine, neesan! The first time it happened was scary, but now I know that Sourisi-chan is always looking out for me!" Grabbing the magical girl in a tight hug, Yamane smiles as she feels the comfort only her big sister can bring her.
Smiling cheerfully at her little sister, Sourisi closes her eyes and takes a deep breath of the cool air, her sparkling cape rippling in the wind swirling around Clover Town. While nervous about her cooking show at first, it's quickly becoming a big success for Niramo Umokeshi. And with her little sister saved and the future looking brighter than ever for the Stardust Champions, Sourisi can rest easy.
If only the strange dreams plaguing her at night would let her.
<Pose Tracker> Ladybug [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Monsters in this world are relatively rare, but the sight of the Stardust Champion defeating a villainous Nebula is a hard one to ignore. The roof of the Dupain-Cheng bakery offers an excellent vantage point, and Marinette leans against the railing while a friend beside her is gushing out loud while the camera rolls.
It's a glamorous battle...but soon enough, the Nebula is fading into motes of light. Marinette lets out a sigh, and looks at her friend. "There you go, Alya-chan. Is this a good enough vantage point for your blog that you can stop running into those battles?"
Reviewing the footage, the budding journalist squeals. "It was fantastic! Though you really don't understand the journalism spirit - and that one was a solo fight! Do you know how rare those are, how many hits up-close footage would have gotten?!"
"Yes, yes, I'm sure your commentary will make up for lost time - want to work on it inside?"
"Sure, sure. Guess I can totally bump that lame Mothhawk fight..."
Marinette makes a face like she's bitten into a lemon - but she's alone on her balcony in seconds. There's loud squeals from the general area of her computer, and she can only let out a sigh. "...all right, so...that's kind of different. I'm guessing this must be Sourisi's world, though it is kind of a strange one...think we can catch up with her, Tikki?" The little bug fairy emerges, though she seems much smaller than usual...
But magic is still magic, and video editing takes enough focus from a 'journalist' that she doesn't see Ladybug leap from the balcony to try to catch the Stardust Champion.
She was in the direction of...that rooftop, right? The red-clad gymnast stumbles over a tile, finding her footing a little less sure than usual...hopefully she can catch up.
<Pose Tracker> Adrien Agreste [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Adrien smiles as he finished reading the latest article of Sourisi. "She really is amazing," he told Plagg who was napping on the desk. "It's always so amzing watching her battles. I hope Ladybug and I can match up to her level."
He continues reading until within an eyeblink he stops reading and glances around his room.
"Alright, different set up from last time," he said as he stood up. "I hope my lady made it here alright." There was no way of knowing until they found each other and the best method was to locate Sourisi.
Adrien then spotted the Sourisi fanpage that was still open as a tab on his website.
"Uh, guess that's a start," he said and read the page. "Just had a fight..okay, guess I'll head over to that area."
Within seconds, Chat Noir was running at top speed as he jumped over rooftops. He noticed people cheered as he ran by, but not nearly as many as he normally saw. He didn't have time to ponder on this as he spotted figured out in the distance. "Here's hoping I catch up to them."
<Pose Tracker> Niramo Umokeshi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Hearing rushing footsteps heading her way, Sourisi opens her eyes then lets go of Yamane quickly as she spies the Miraculous Ladybug heading her way. While she wants to show just as much affection for her sister when she was transformed, the threat the Void Stars, Mothhawk or Northa pose if they learned the green-haired girl was precious to Sourisi was too much to risk.
Waving a hand in greetings, Sourisi calls out to the polka-dotted heroine as she gets closer. "Ladybug-san! You just missed a Nebubla attack, but thankfully no one got drained this time. I haven't seen any of Mothhawk's Akuma since last week, maybe because he's having too much trouble finding another person to victimize!"
Seems like in this dream, the duo of Ladybug and Chat Noir help out the Stardust Champions occasionally, with the more experienced trio of magical girls making sure Mothhawk doesn't get too much of an upper hand.
Speaking of the black panther, Chat Noir isn't too far behind his partner, and the frilled magical girl greets him just as warmly. "Chat-san! If the both of you are out tonight, then evil is prowling again. Might be a little overkill, but I don't mind jumping in to help if you need it. I just need to help my little si--uh, admirer get home safe." Sourisi quickly recovers from her slip of the tongue and motions to the adorable Juuban student, a proud smile on her lips.
Yamane never gets to meet other magical girls besides the Stardust Champions, and seeing a magical boy is the cherry on the cake. She runs up to Chat Noir and Ladybug and looks between the two, starstruck. "Wooow, Sourisi-san tells me a lot about the other magical fighters, but it's the first time I seen you two in person! Your costumes are so different, but in a good way!"
Compared to Sourisi's costume, they certainly look different compared to Sourisi. Despite the battle she just fought, the Stardust Champion's uniform looks like it could be shown off at a fashion show designed around magical girls with no clean up needed. Knee-high boots, frilly skirt and silver chestplate, the sparkling cape she wears that looks like a comet's tail. Of course, it wouldn't be complete without the silver anklet resting on the outside of one of her boots, sparkling in the fading sunlight.
<Pose Tracker> Ladybug [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Ladybug swings onto the rooftop, same as ever - well, maybe she's landing a little more confidently than usual. A junior hero is just that, after all - and she's certainly got to work on getting experience with her goofy 'Lucky Charm' attacks. That's the story in this world, surely.
"Sourisi! Glad I managed to catch up-" Chat arrives moments later, and she corrects herself. "Glad we managed to catch up, that is. And that makes sense - you don't need a hand or anything, right?"
She'd like to help, save for two things. Past problems with small children, and...if Sourisi really did slip up there, then this girl might be a key to a secret identity that she really shouldn't be learning.
Ladybug opts to crouch down, smiling broadly. "Thank you! I guess we must look pretty different, though..." She glances over to to Chat's leather outfit, and then to the sparkling silver of Sourisi. ..
"...really different. Anyway, the Stardust Champion is right - there's a problem we need to talk about, so you'd better get home soon, okay?"
<Pose Tracker> Adrien Agreste [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Chat flips and lands perfectly onto the roof top. For once he's rather graceful, rather than being a bit of a klutz. Oh well at least he was getting better in this world.
"Ladies," Chat greeted, but quickly noticed Ladybug's quick change of line as the little girl greets them. "Ah," he says and winks at the child. "Yes, well, variety is the spice of life is it not?" He looks back to Sourisi. "Ladybug is right through, there is an urgent problem we need to discuss." He sends a nod to Ladybug, hopefully she understood he was on the same page.
<Pose Tracker> Niramo Umokeshi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Giggling at Yamane as she gasps in wonder at Ladybug and Chat Noir, Sourisi smiles at the cute scene but brings herself to respond to the heroine. "Nope! Taureai-chan and Tigiri-chan just wasn't nearby when the Void Stars' latest creation tried to kidnap her. Been quite a while since I fought anything by myself, but I always find a way to succeed!"
Yamane grins at Chat Noir's words and bobs her head. "Yep! If everything was the same, it would be boring, right Chat-san?" The little girl bursts into giggles at the wink directed her way. If Sourisi isn't careful, she might just lose a fangirl to his charm!
The mention of a problem, and the fact that even the pun master was looking serious about it has the Stardust Champion realize that something must be up if the Miraculous Duo was seeking her own. "Yamane-chan, you should be able to get down with the fire escape near the doll shop, okay? You head straight home and make sure your family knows you're safe." Sharing a wink with Yamane, Sourisi gently pushes Yamane past Chat Noir, and the Juuban girl waves cheerfully at all three of them as she heads out. "Bye Sourisi-san! It was nice meeting you Ladybug-san, Chat-san!"
As soon as Yamane was out of earshot, Sourisi turns her attention back to the two lesser-experienced magical warriors, an eyebrow raised. "If it's urgent, i'm all ears, Chat-san. If Mothhawk's planning on teaming up with another villain, you can count on me to prevent it from becoming a cat-astrophe!"
Sourisi mentally chastises herself for the terrible pun. A perfect magical girl doesn't leave bad jokes in her wake!
<Pose Tracker> Ladybug [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Sourisi is serious about things, at least, and Ladybug breathes a sigh of relief as she stands up. "That you do, Sourisi, that you do." She gives the more experienced magical girl here a bit of a salute, stepping back as farewells are said to Yamane. Chat seems to be his normal self, and Ladybug just spins her yo-yo during the little bit of flirting.
It's at least a sign they're on the same page.
She gives the smaller child a wave, because how can a hero not do something like that in a world this bright, and then...it's just the three of them. Ladybug glances at Chat, not sure where to begin - they didn't exactly make a plan. Sourisi has her guess, though, and-
-and the girl in red just groans loudly. "You're as bad as he is, I swear...all right, the problem." She spins her yo-yo idly, tossing and catching in one fluid motion that this Ladybug hasn't ever managed to pull off.
"...it doesn't look like Pa - like Mothhawk. We've just kind of...stumbled into something that looks a lot bigger than any of his minions. Chat had a bit more experience than I did, but the short answer..." Her grip on her yo-yo tightens, and she turns to gaze at the horizon. "...have you had strange dreams lately? Dreams of things being completely different from what you expect?"
<Pose Tracker> Adrien Agreste [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Chat is relieved to see Sourisi take the threat seriously, and grins like a cat had been given cream . "Oh, that was the cat's meow." He laughs until Ladybug brings up the vital issues. He frowns and looks to Sourisi. "Yes, dreams that feel like...important, almost vital in some manner but you just have trouble remembering the full details?'
<Pose Tracker> Niramo Umokeshi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Giggling as Chat Noir joins in with a pun of his own, it takes a moment for her to school her features. Despite how serious they seem, it's not /that/ serious if the Bad Luck Cat was still laying down puns. "Right, right, apologizes Ladybug-san, but you have to admit that was a good one."
Dark green eyes track the yo-yo as Ladybug twirls it around, and Sourisi claps as the junior hero finally gets the trick she's been trying for months right, ever since they first met. Both of them must be training hard, especially if he Chat Noir finally managed to land the 10-point landing. "You two are really progressing since those months ago and we first met! I remember when you first tried that and you ended up entangled with Chat Noir. It was adorable, really."
But when both of them mention dreams, dreams that were completely different from the normal and lacking detail, all traces of joy slides away from Sourisi's face. Looking towards the shrinking sunset, the Stardust Champion nervously reaches up behind her neck as if searching for something to tug on but stops as soon it dawns on here there was nothing to pull. For the first time since they met her in this dream, Sourisi was now sporting a new emotion.
Uncertainty.
"Well, now that you mention it, yes. There...was this void portal thing that was devouring the stars and these four fighters that were absorbing it somehow. Takk said it wasn't one of my visions, but it still seemed so real..." Thinking back to that terrible nightmare, the mental image of an older woman with crimson hair and a girl her age with brown hair came to mind. Even if she couldn't remember their faces, the rest of them still stayed clear. Why were they so important?
"Then there was another, where I was a knight and I met the four fighters up close, and they seem so ...tired and mistreated. They said something about shadows and it ended terribly, but...it was so real. I know it wasn't really a vision, but...both of them seem so important somehow." When Niramo had tried asking her fellow Stardust Champions if they had the dreams as well, they both laughed and shook their heads, telling her to forget the silly nightmares.
Looking back over at the two junior heroes, Sourisi's features school themselves when she realizes she have to appear strong for her students, but the glimmer of hope flickers in her eyes. "Did either of you have dreams like that as well?"
<Pose Tracker> Ladybug [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
The applause takes Ladybug off guard, and she blinks at the yo-yo in her hand before shaking her head. "Did you have to bring that up? ...I'd just gotten roped into things, after all." She winks at Niramo, because if puns aren't leaving the table then she's going to take a shot at winning.
It's a fleeting moment, and Ladybug tucks away her yo-yo as Sourisi turns away. She glances at Chat when the girl tugs at a tail that isn't there, takes a breath - but then Sourisi starts talking.
That's the one, in the end. The last thing they'd seen before getting pulled into these dreams, the rift in the world and the woman appearing from the book...
When Sourisi turns back to them, Ladybug's face isn't filled with uncertainty, or awe, or any of the expressions a student should have. She's solemn, and behind her mask her gaze is piercing. "That would be the one. It's...it's kind of connected to some weird book, and a woman connected to it - she's been using her power to pull people into dream worlds. I got dragged into one where, uh..."
Is Ladybug blushing?
"...it doesn't matter and Chat if you say a word there will be suffering." She turns away from -both - of her fellow heroes in a sudden huff. "...but yeah, recognizing that you're stuck in a dream is... hard. I got lucky, in that Chat came in to pull me out of it..."
She trails off, not sure how to bring the next point in.
<Pose Tracker> Adrien Agreste [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Chat nods as Sourisi says the description they've been waiting and he gives a sigh of relief. "Yes, that's right," he comments and nods along with Ladybug. Although gives a slight smirk as he recalls Ladybug's dream with Chat and Adrien pinning for her, but now was not the time for it...later there would be much teasing.
"It's true," he added. "I, by some miracle, managed to wake myself by...let's just say by something shocking," he turned his gaze to Sourisi, "but now it's your turn. You have to wake up from this dream world, Sourisi."
<Pose Tracker> Niramo Umokeshi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
When Sourisi looks back towards Ladybug and Chat Noir, she was expecting to see a concerned look, perhaps a joke or two at her expense about how she shouldn't eat before bed to prevent nightmares and two novices looking awed that they were being let into a secret. What she wasn't expecting was Ladybug looking much more confident than she was last week all of a sudden, throwing Sourisi mentally off balance. "Wait, you had the exact same dream?"
Even Ladybug trailing off with a rather rosy blush to her cheeks and Chat's all-knowing smirk is glossed over as she struggles with that piercing gaze. Just how much have Ladybug and Chat Noir grown in just a week? And why was she so off-balance because of it? She should be proud of her students...right?
Folding her arms against her chest, Sourisi frowns as Ladybug trails off. "A villain that attacks through dreams is pretty serious, and it's good that Chat-san was able to wake you up in time! But dreams are just that, after all." Even as she says that, Sourisi feels like a hypocrite for being so stressed out about those strange nightmares she had, but she gets the feeling that wasn't what Ladybug was trying to bring up. Why bring up the dreams she had in the first place then?
But then Chat Noir finishes it for his partner, and Sourisi blinks in surprise as she tries to make sense of what he was saying. Well, of course she's awake right now! She just stopped a moster and she never got hit once, so there was no risk of her being knocked out...right? Or is that what they mean, about the villain that was attacking through dreams?
The dreams they brought up, the first one they all seen had to be a clue here, but why would the villain show her a nightmare that never happened, with people she doesn't recognized? Unless...
A dawning realization strikes Sourisi hard, and just as the sun sets and the city becomes brilliant with artificial light, the magical girl looks towards the fire escape that her little sister just went down. Towards a family waiting for both of them to enjoy dinner. Towards a home she won't be heading home to. "I'm dreaming right now, am I?" This was more a question to herself than towards the Miraculous Duo, and Sourisi does the only thing she can think of. After all, the leader of the Stardust Champions have never felt any pain or suffered any injury in her career.
Raising a hand, Sourisi slaps herself in the face, not hard enough to leave a bruise but enough to make it sting.
Stumbling from the self-inflicted slap, Sourisi's body is awash with glowing motes of light like those that came from a purified Nebubla that float away in the light breeze. As they fade away, Sourisi in all her bodysuited glory stands in her place, with her familiar french braid and black hair moving with the breeze. There's no gleaming silver or frilly accessories here, but the tried and true costume of the Miraculous Ninja.
Pinching the bridge of her nose, Sourisi tries to suppress the deepening blush forming on her cheeks and failing. "I must look so silly to you two, huh...?"
COMBAT: Niramo Umokeshi transforms into Sourisi!
<Pose Tracker> Ladybug [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
It took a minute or so for Ladybug to get embarrassment off her face. Fortunately, in that span, Chat Noir fills in - cutting straight to the point she'd been dancing around. The sun sets, the city's lights take over the role of shining in the night, and...Sourisi is focused on that child who's just gone home.
The slap catches Ladybug off guard, and she whirls to behold Sourisi's true transformation. It's a relief to see her again, absolutely...but it's a familiar embarrassment. There's only one thing to say in response to that little moment.
"If it helps, you did figure it out faster than I did. It took Chat, ah, flirting with one of my dream-suitors to clue me in that something was up." There's a look she gives Chat, just smug enough to say 'I know your dark secret and I'm not saying a word', but...she leaves it there. "It's definitely good to have you back..."
She glances to the fire escape, opens her mouth to ask a question...then shakes her head. "...and sorry for intruding."
At least the Miraculous holders are together again. That much is true, even if this world no longer has its Stardust Champion, and Ladybug tries a reassuring smile.
